UH Hilo alumna launches online story map on Puakō; data shows reef in serious decline, community shows how to restore
The story map presents alarming data through interactive multimedia, but also delves into how the Puakō community is working together to solve the water quality problems and restore the reef.
By Susan Enright/UH Hilo Stories.
An alumna of the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo has created an online interactive “story map” about the rapid decline of Puakō’s water and reef health.
Katie Gaut, a geographer with a master of science in tropical conservation biology and environmental science (UH Hilo, 2009), is now owner of Blue Water GIS, a geographic information system firm based in Bellingham, Washington state. The company, founded by Gaut, specializes in data visualization, meaning they present complicated data in compelling visual stories and beautiful maps for public consumption and education.
The Blue Water GIS team has developed the Puakō Reef StoryMap, Wahi Pana (Legendary Place), created with the web-based application ArcGIS Online StoryMap, that presents a fascinating but alarming timeline about the Hawaiʻi Island reef through interactive multimedia. The story map documents the sewage pollution issues at Puakō, backed by scientific research conducted over the years by UH Hilo marine science faculty along with their undergraduate and graduate students. Lead researchers on the Puakō project were professors of marine science Tracy Wiegner, Steve Colbert, and Jim Beets (who mentored Gaut in her graduate studies; he is now an emeritus professor).
“After working with, interviewing and multiple rounds of review with you all, Blue Water GIS and Jovan Hall are thrilled to announce the launch of the Puakō Reef StoryMap, Wahi Pana,” says Gaut in an email sent out to the research team. Hall is a member of the Puakō community.
“We can’t thank you all enough for your contributions, time and support to create this science communication tool,” says Gaut.
A reef on the verge of collapse
The story map starts out by explaining that Puakō, one of Hawaiʻi’s most important coral reefs, has plummeted from 53% coral cover to less than 5% in recent years. The reef is on the verge of collapse.
But despite this severe decline, the story map says right up front, “This is a story of hope.” The site then presents alarming data, but also delves into how members of the Puakō community, located in a wahi pana, meaning a legendary or sacred place, are working together to solve the water quality problems and restore the reef.
Along with timelines and data, a lot of it dire and bleak, the story line is also filled with photos and visuals expressing resiliency and the hope for revitalization, all grounded in not only the data, but in a deep respect for the original stewards.
“This is about so much more than just the reef, it’s about respect for land and culture simultaneously,” says Kawehi Apo, Puakō descendant and cultural practitioner, in the story map.
The scientific data is daunting.
The research team performed a dye tracer study to test how fast wastewater from local residences is reaching the ocean, and discovered it enters the ocean within hours of flushing a toilet. The results are no different from cesspools, septic, or Aerobic Treatment Units, or ATUs. There are at least 480 bathrooms in the area.
“If you went to the bathroom at high tide, when you flush the toilet that sewage would be coming out to the shoreline at low tide,” says Professor Colbert. “And it’s not the kind of water that I would want to be swimming in and it also has implications for our coral reef health.”
The rapid travel of wastewater from source to sea is because of the unique geology and freshwater connectivity of Puakō’s anchialine ponds. This freshwater is one of the things that has made Puakō’s reef rich and diverse, but that constant flow now leads to its contamination.
Professors Wiegner, Colbert, and Beets, along with their students, have been studying the Puakō reef since 2014. The data shows the effects of sewage in coastal waters in a number of ways, notably the presence of potentially harmful bacteria in higher concentrations than health department standards, pathogens, nutrients, and more. Overload of wastewater nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, allows marine algae to thrive, smothering the coral. The area has also shown a die-off and a bleaching event exacerbated by the pollution.
A unique opportunity
But despite this contamination, both researchers and members of the Puakō community remain optimistic.
“We have a unique opportunity to restore this reef, and our efforts can serve as a model to other communities around the world who must also work to restore degraded reefs of their own,” the story line reads. “Like the Hawaiian stewards of centuries past, we must demand of ourselves, our neighbors, and our government, that we will all do what’s necessary to protect the reef for our future generations.”
Solutions include community engagement, education and implementation of best reef practices, the use of mooring buoys for boats to safely anchor, the support of sustainable fisheries, and support for local conservation groups.
Learn more at the Puakō Reef StoryMap website.
Learn more about the UH Hilo research team’s testing at Kahaluʻu Bay, Kailua-Kona, and Hilo Bay.
Story by Susan Enright, a public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.
